Experts Warn Against Use Of Hydroxychloroquine To Treat COVID-19 Patients

As the world battles to secure more of the hydroxychloroquine(HCQ), researchers have warned against the use of the drug saying it could prove fatal .

As the world battles to secure more of the hydroxychloroquine(HCQ), researchers have warned against the use of the 'wonder drug' saying it could prove fatal for the COVID-19 patients. According to reports, researchers have also asserted that countries should lessen their reliance on HCQ as there was no scientific proof of its benefit in treating coronavirus. Meanwhile, coronavirus has infected 3,822,295 and killed 1,303,793 across the world.

M C Misra, former director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) while speaking to PTI said, "It is only on anecdotal evidence that doctors are using HCQ along with other antiviral medication (used in HIV and other viral infections) as empiric therapy to treat COVID-19 patients as there is no definite treatment available yet".

Increased reliance

Elaborating further about the dangers of the drug, he said that there were reports of some patients developing cardiac arrhythmia, which can cause sudden cardiac death due to the use of HCQ. Meanwhile, as the threat of COVID-19 pandemic rises, most of the countries including US and UK have started to rely more and more on the drug. India has become the leading exporter of HCQ, which is used mainly for treating malaria and rheumatoid-arthritis.

This comes two days after a consignment of five million tablets of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) from India arrived in Toronto, on May 5, as a part of the cooperation in the fight against COVID-19. India has placed urgent orders of at least 11.45 crore tablets of HCQ, an anti-malarial drug, as demands from across the world have surged owing to the coronavirus crisis.

India’s High Commissioner to Canada Ajay Bisaria expressed his delight over the arrival of the consignment of five million tablets of HCQ. Taking to Twitter, Bisaria said that the consignment was part of India’s special provision for its strategic partner and it will continue to maintain global supply chain even in tough times.